1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a terminal to which a mating terminal is connected and a terminal connection structure including a female terminal and a male terminal connected to each other.
2. Related Art
FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a terminal connection structure illustrated in Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-53119) as a prior-art example. As illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the prior-art terminal connection structure has a pair of female terminal 101 and male terminal 110 connected to each other. The male terminal 110 includes a tab portion 112 whose outer peripheral surface 111 is formed as a circumferential surface. The female terminal 101 includes a cylindrical base portion 102, and a plurality of elastically deformable elastic contact pieces 103 protruding from a plurality of locations of the base portion 102 in the circumferential direction. In the female terminal 101, an insertion space 104 surrounded by the plurality of elastic contact pieces 103 is formed. The tab portion 112 of the male terminal 110 is inserted into the insertion space 104. An inner surface 105 of each of the elastic contact pieces 103 and the outer peripheral surface 111 of the tab portion 112 are formed having the same radius of curvature. Here, the respective radiuses of curvature of the inner surface 105 of each of the elastic contact pieces 103 and the outer peripheral surface 111 of the tab portion 112 are defined in a direction along the circumferential direction of the tab portion 112. Each of the elastic contact pieces 103 is extended in parallel with the tab portion 112 from the base portion 102 side toward a tip end and has its tip end side bent in a diameter-expanding direction.
In the above configuration, when the tab portion 112 of the male terminal 110 is inserted into the insertion space 104 from the tip end side of the elastic contact piece 103 of the female terminal 101, each of the elastic contact pieces 103 is elastically deformed to an outer side (diameter-expanding direction), respectively. As a result, insertion of the tab portion 112 into the insertion space 104 is allowed. The inner surface 105 of each of the elastic contact pieces 103 and the outer peripheral surface 111 of the tab portion 112 come into planar contact with each other, by using a deflection restoring force of each of the elastic contact pieces 103 as a contact load. Accordingly, a portion between the female terminal 101 and the male terminal 110 is brought into conduction.